Munster League Champions Cup 1st October 2023 Match Reports
Peake Villa 9 – 0 Arra Rovers
TSDL champions Peake Villa hosted their northern Tipperary counterparts Arra Rovers at the Tower Grounds in Thurles on Sunday and showed a gulf in class between the two leagues by trouncing the North Tipperary side to progress to the semi finals of this prestigious competition. The conditions for the game were excellent with the pitch in immaculate condition, and it was Arra who had the first chance of the game with a great effort from thirty yards out that was volleyed against the crossbar in the third minute. If anything though, this seemed to wake up the home side and they hit the front in the twelfth minute when Pippy Carroll was on hand to score at the back post when a ball broke to him. The hosts took complete control after this, but had to wait until ten minutes before the break before they added a second, when Ronan McGuire put in a great cross and Mick Ryan scored at the back post again. Daragh Byrne made it three five minutes before the break when he scored after sustained pressure, and the Villa as good as ended the game two minutes before half time when after Carroll had a good effort saved Mick Ryan was on hand to head home to make it four nil at half time. The home side were in the mood for goals and never let up in the second period, adding a fifth nine minutes in, when Carroll got his second after being played in by Darragh Byrne. He completed his hat trick three minutes later when the hosts were awarded a penalty and he made no mistake from the spot. The goal of the game came in thirteen minutes from the end when Keith Cahill made a great run down the wing and cut in to score with a shot that flew under the keeper’s body. Cahill’s free kick led to Villa’s eight goal when his effort was parried by the keeper and Kieren Hennessy was on hand to score close in, and he capped a fine performance when he rounded off the goals with his second of the day to make the final score nine to nil, as comprehensive a win as a team could be expected to produce.
TSDL Premier League 1st October 2023 Match Reports
Killavilla 2 – 0 Tipperary Town
Killavilla were well worth their win in Roscrea on Sunday, but were made work right to the final whistle before they got past their TSDL opponents Tipperary Town. The home side started better and opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute when Tom Aherne found the net from well inside the area. They were denied a second ten minutes later when Eric Higgins pulled off a remarkable save that looked goal bound to all watching, and the visitors responded minutes after when Caleb Hickey smashed an effort off the crossbar from all of thirty yards out. Ryan Maher then worked the keeper but the away side couldn’t force the equaliser before the half time break. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with the home side playing some very neat football and generally having the better of the chances. Their second goal was worthy of winning any game with a spectacular shot from twenty five yards out that left Higgins rooted to the spot. Town kept pushing and Ryan Maher went close again but missed the target with just the keeper to beat. In the end the NTDL side progressed with a deserved win.
TSDL Premier League 1st October 2023 Match Reports
Wilderness Rovers 2 – 5 Cahir Park
It was a lovely morning for a game of football on Sunday morning in Clonmel, and both sides served up a terrific game of ball, before the Park added to their good start to the current season. The home side started brightly and created a couple of chances early on without any reward. Cahir eventually settled and crept in to the game as it went on and created some chances of their own, but the opening score went to the home side ten minutes before the break when a corner taken by Jake Guinan was delivered low to front post and Josh Greene finished brilliantly after a well timed run. This prompted Cahir to really open up and they found an equaliser minutes before the break when after an initial brilliant save from Yusef Arbaz in the Wildies goal, Chris Higgins pounced to fire home the rebound from close range. Level at the break, the hosts started the second half as they did the first and when Cian O Farrell won a header in midfield ten minutes in, he found Jake Guinan who hit an unstoppable screamer from outside the area to put the home side back in front again. But again, the visitors didn’t panic and levelled matters for a second time when Pa Quinn found the net on the hour mark. This was the precursor to a period of intense pressure from the visitors and Niall Daly got a third for the away side with twenty minutes left to put them into the lead. The home side threw everything at their opponents in trying to find a leveller and with legs beginning to tire it was the fitter Cahir side who found an extra gear and a fourth goal four minutes from time, when Niall Daly scored his second of the game. They put the cherry on the top of a good win when they scored a fifth deep into time added on when Willie Dunne scored from the penalty spot.
Clonmel Town 0 – 1 Clonmel Celtic
A Philip Drohan goal right on the stroke of half time was enough to give Celtic all three points in the Clonmel local derby in front of a vocal crowd on Sunday last. It was a close tight battle throughout the ninety minutes but Drohan’s composure to slot home when others had lost their nerve in front of goal was the difference between the sides. Celtic started the brighter and were thwarted twice early on by Town keeper Evan Comerford before the home side settled and gained a foothold. The best chance of the half fell to Jake French Davis but he missed the target with only Fabian Kerton to beat. Set up by Jack O’Donnell, Davis was through on goal but saw his shot go the wrong side of the post. Soon after Kevin Kirwan cut in from the right hand side but just like Davis before him failed to hit the target. Moments later Town were made to pay when Cian O’Sullivan and Drohan combined to give Celtic a goal and the half time lead. The second half saw the hosts in the ascendency for the majority of the time, but despite playing the majority of the game in their opponents half, they never really carved out a clear opening. The best chance came late when Jack O’Donnell curled a delightful free kick past Kerton but his shot skimmed the upright and fell to safety. Celtic had to defend for the remaining ten minutes but Browne and O’Sullivan were solid to ensure the visiting side would leave with a crucial three points.
Two Mile Borris 0 – 5 St Michael’s
Five minutes of madness in the home defence just after the half time break was enough to gift St Michael’s a big win on Sunday afternoon, even though they finished the game with just nine men on the pitch at the end of a very entertaining clash at Newhill Park. Played in perfect conditions both teams started well and had a number of half chances between them in the first fifteen minutes. But the away side finally made a chance count in the fifteenth minute, when centre half DJ Cremins reacted quickest to a save by the home keeper and poked the ball to the net from all of six yards out. This should have put the Saints comfortably in control, but ten minutes later they were reduced to ten men, and had to weather a bit of a storm from the home side. That they did and looked like heading to the break a goal to the good, until things got even better for them in the final minute of the first half, when Russell Quirke followed up a long clearance from defence to round the keeper and slide home doubling his sides half time advantage. Borris felt slightly aggrieved to be down at the break after playing well in the first half, but they had no one but themselves to blame for effectively throwing the game away in the first five minutes of the second. Not once but twice did poor back passes to their keeper get intercepted by the vigilant Colin Bargary and he scored two goals to put the game out of sight. Ten minutes from time Cremins got his second when he headed home a free kick, to make it five. And the final drama of the game was left to the final minutes when the Saints, lost a second player to a red card.
TSDL First Division 1st October 2023 Match Reports
Cullen Lattin 1 – 1 Peake Villa
Division 1 league leaders Cullen Lattin hosted Peake Villa on Sunday, and both teams shared the points after a good game of football at Aisling Park. The two teams adopted an attacking attitude from the off, and Peake were given a great opportunity to open the scoring in the twenty second minute when they were awarded a penalty kick. However, the shot rattled off the crossbar and away to safety, much to the relief of the home side. They settled more after this let off and ten minutes before the break had their best chance to open the scoring when a Mikey Stokes effort warmed the gloves of the visiting keeper. The game went to half time level at no score each, and Cullen began to dominate the early parts of the second period, finally opening the scoring just after the hour mark, when Ben Carey headed home from a Tony o Neill corner kick. They had further chances through Stokes, O Neill and Keith Burke to extend that lead, but the Villa keeper was putting in a man of the match performance to keep his side in the tie. Eventually that paid off for the visitors when four minutes from time they broke down the right and produced a well delivered cross to cause consternation in the home defence, which led to Paul Noonan tapping home to gain a point for his side.
Vee Rovers 1 – 2 Cashel Town
Cashel Town continued their push to get back to the Premier League with a second win on the trot against the other relegated team last year Vee Rovers on Sunday afternoon in Clogheen. Both teams were cagey in the early part of the game with defences ruling the roost for the majority of the first forty five minutes. The closest either side came to opening the scoring came ten minutes before the break, when the visitors had a shot come cannoning back off the crossbar, but in the end they went to half time scoreless. It took just six minutes of the second period to change that however, when the away side took the lad after a sweeping movement through the middle saw the ball left to Lee Riordan to guide an effort to the net. Five minutes later a long ball out of the Cashel defence caused confusion amongst the home side and when the Rovers keeper collided with a Cashel player in his own area, the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Eoin Byrne stepped up and fired the penalty to the net given Cashel a two goal cushion. This allowed them to cede possession to the hosts and Vee took advantage when they cut the lead to a single goal fifteen minutes from time, when Shane Mc Grath rose highest to head the ball to the net after an excellent cross into the box. After that, the hosts battered their visitors, creating chance after chance, and seeing the ball come back off the woodwork on numerous occasions, but in the end they were not able to breach a stubborn away defence again and Cashel hung on to claim the points.
St Michael’s 2 – 2 Old Bridge
Saints looked the better team here for long periods but had to depend on a late equaliser to gain a point at the Complex on Sunday, against a very good Old Bridge side. The home side were fast out of the blocks and Danny O’Brien was on hand in just the third minute to bury a left wing cross from Josh Flannery and open the scoring. O Brien was unlucky not to set up Antonio Rea six minutes later for a second, but the visiting defence managed to scramble the ball away. The Clonmel side finally settled and started to control possession in the middle of the pitch, finally getting an equaliser just after the half hour mark when Connie Power doubled on a Cillian Fahey cross to beat Robbie McGrath from the edge of the area. The two sides traded chances after that but no more goals were scored in the first half. The second period followed a similar pattern to the first, with both sides probing for openings against good defensive units, before the Bridge got their noses in front in the sixty sixth minute when substitute Michael Fitzgerald scored from a Cillian Fahey cross after the Saints defence failed to clear. It was nearly game over for the home side with fourteen minutes left when Jack Burke saw his effort come back off the crossbar. But they hung in gamely and fashioned a leveller three minutes from the end when a pinpoint pass from Danny O’Brien released Evan Hawkins who matched the pass with a good finish with the outside of his right foot to nestle in the corner of the net and make it two all.
TSDL Third Division 1st October 2023 Match Reports
Tipperary Town 1 – 1 Bansha Celtic
At a sun drenched Arra Road these local rivals played out a highly entertaining one all draw on Sunday afternoon. With both sides playing some good football it would be the visitors that would take an early lead with just fifteen minutes on the clock with a lovely finish from Adam Hennessy. The home side though would dig in and fight their way back into the game with a stunning free kick that saw Mark Browne find the top corner and leaving the Bansha keeper no chance. It looked like these first half goals would set up a high scoring game, but amazingly that was the end of the scoring with maybe the away side cursing their luck in the end. The home side will thank their keeper Mickie “The Monk” O Dwyer who came up with two fantastic saves from close range to deny the visitors and ensure his side would gain a point.
Ballingarry Albion 3 – 1 SC & K United
Ballingarry Albion made it four wins from four in Division Three when they got the better of SC & K United at home on Sunday afternoon. The home side got off to a good start knocking the ball around well and playing on the front foot in the opening stages. Michael Ivors was involved in every attack early on finding both Jonothan Ivors and Patrick Ivors with searching passes down the wings as the home team sought an early breakthrough. The eventually found themselves in front after twenty five minutes when a corner wasn’t dealt with by the visitors and Ian Ivors was waiting below the crossbar tap home from two yards out. The game dipped a little after this and there were no more chances of note from either side for the rest of the half. The home side controlled the early part of the second half much as they had done the first and got a second goal in the sixty second minute when Michael Ivors found Rian O Callaghan in space and he made no mistake from inside the area. The visitors struck back five minutes later when an excellent cross into the home area found a lone striker who crashed the ball to the net, albeit on the second attempt after the Albion keeper had kept out the first effort. But all that good work came to nought minutes later, when th home side re-established their two goal cushion, after O Callaghan turned provider and played in Adam O Connell to round the keeper and calmly slot home. The away side did push hard to get back into the game a second time, but the home team shut the door on them time and again and made sure they took all three points in the end.
TSDL Youths Report 1st October 2023 Match Reports
TSDL Youths Div 1
Clonmel Celtic 4 – 1 Cahir Park
Clonmel Celtic welcomed Cahir Park and following last week’s exits from the FAI Youth Cup, both teams were looking to bounce back in the league. In the early exchanges the two sides showed good intent to compete hard for the points, but after the first quarter of an hour it was the home side who settled better and stated creating the cleaner chances. However despite all their huffing and puffing they could not break down a stubborn visiting defence and the game went to the break scoreless. The second period was a different affair, and the home side came out with intent and found the finishing that had eluded them in the first half. Within four minutes of the restart, they took the lead after some indecision in the Cahir defence allowed Dominic Mendel to slot home. Over the next ten minutes they took control and added three goals through Luke Hannigan, Jack Aylward and Rhys Lonergan to wrap the game up by the hour mark. The visitors pulled one back fifteen minutes from the end when Keelan Darcy finished well but it was too little too late to make any dent on the final result.